I'm a little slow this year, but with the 2018 ALA Youth Media Award (#ALAYMA18) in our rearview mirror, it's time for the annual EXTREME CALDECOTT PLACEMENT!

For those of you who are new to this, the basic idea is: With such an incredible honor, why stop at placing the Caldecott medal on the book's cover? Why not go all in and insert the medal inside the book itself? (For the historians among you, here are links to past years: 2017,2016, and 2015.)

First up, your distinguished 2018 Caldecott Honorees:

BIG CAT, LITTLE CAT by Elisha Cooper (Macmillan/Roaring Brook)

CROWN: AN ODE TO THE FRESH CUT by Derrick Barnes, ill. Gordon C. James (Agate/Denene Millner)

A DIFFERENT POND by Bao Phi, ill. Thi Bui (Capstone)

GRAND CANYON by Jason Chin (Macmillan/Roaring Brook)

and last but not least... (drumroll please)... your 2018 Caldecott Medalist!

WOLF IN THE SNOW by Matthew Cordell (Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends)

and there we have it! Congratulations to all of the 2018 Caldecott winners. And I'll see you back here next year for the next edition of EXTREME CALDECOTT PLACEMENT! (cue cheering crowds, fainting masses, etc.)

In each of the past few years, one book has separated itself from the pack early on (Last Stop on Market Street in 2015 and The Adventures of Beekle in 2014). Now that we’re past the halfway point of this year, another book has once again distinguished itself from the pack: Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie and Yuyi Morales (Little, Brown).

A heartwarming story about a young boy literally trying to make a name for himself in the world, Alexie and Morales have created a touching family portrait that feels both modern and timeless. (I had the pleasure of reviewing the book for the New York Times Book Review, so you can read more here.)

But while Thunder Boy Jr. has taken the world by storm, there are several titles challenging for the honor of Best Picture Book of the Year (for example, as my colleagues Betsy Bird and Travis Jonker said: They All Saw a Cat feels like it was built in the Caldecott laboratory). With that in mind, here’s a quick run through of some of the favorites (in alphabetical order) that I’ve come across during the first half of 2016.

Last week, superstar educators Pernille Ripp and Jillian Heise were kind enough to include Let Me Finish on their #pb10for10 lists as a book that would be good for the classroom. Of course, as someone who works in education, the thought of Let Me Finish being used with a classroom full of children is a dream come true... and it also gave me an idea:

BACK TO SCHOOL TEACHER/LIBRARIAN GIVEAWAY!

Example: You can get creative if you want, but any photo of your classroom will do. ;)

This is my first time doing a giveaway, so let's keep it simple:

Tweet a picture of your classroom by Wednesday August 24th with the hashtag #LetMeFinish (and tag @bottomshelfbks and @studioroxas to make sure we see it).

And that's it, there is no step two! (I meant it when I said simple.)

We'll select a winner from one of those tweets and that teacher/classroom will get:

A copy of the Let Me Finish! for your classroom (signed by both me and Isabel); and

A classroom's worth of fun book swag for your students (bookplates and Big Reader stickers; see below).

So, to all you inspiring educators: as you get ready for another incredible year in the classroom, we salute you! Thank you for all you do and we hope we can add a little spoiler-free fun to your school!

I can't begin to tell you what it means to see my name next to these luminaries... so surreal and humbling. (As I was typing, I actually wrote "numbling" by mistake, which seems even more appropriate).

Thank you to Travis Jonker and Colby Sharp for inviting me to tape an episode of The Yarn! I will post a link here once it goes live.

Recently, Broadway fans had to learn how to say goodbye as the original cast of Lin-Manuel Miranda's smash hit Hamilton left the stage. Those of us in the children's literature world could sympathize because we recently shed a collective tear as Mo Willems' Elephant & Piggie series took its curtain call with The Thank You Book.

Well, I like to think that Elephant and Piggie were just looking for a change of pace, a new challenge. So without further ado, I bring you:

HAMILTON starring Elephant & Piggie

Of course, tickets are nearly impossible to get, but luckily we have an exclusive sneak peek at a few musical numbers from the show. ENJOY!

While I'm playing catchup on the blog, I have to admit something: one of the biggest surprises of my adult life is that not only do I kind of enjoy doing interviews, the sound of my own voice has not killed me! (Seriously, I was totally convinced that it would.)

It helps when you have such fantastic interviewers or co-hosts. Over the last couple months, I've had the chance to do two podcasts and they were both a lot of fun.

First I got to visit my old Book Riot stomping grounds and co-host and episode the Dear Book Nerd podcast where Rita Meade and I answer bookish questions and stumble our way into literary cliches.

After that, Isabel and I had the pleasure of joining Matthew Winner (one of the nicest people in kidlit) on his All the Wonders Podcast. I point people to Matthew's work all the time and describe it as Inside the Actor's Studio for kidlit creators, so it was a huge (and surreal) honor to finally join him for an episode.

A huge thanks to both Rita and Matthew for being such gracious hosts and helping me inoculate myself against the sound of my own voice... I am forever in your debt!